How the Renters (Reform) Bill will affect tenants

The Renters (Reform) Bill has now gone through the House of Commons and is currently at the second reading stage in the House of Lords. And with no date yet announced for the General Election, it’s possible that it will be passed under this Conservative Government.

The measures proposed in the Bill should improve both standards and fairness in the sector, and make the overall renting experience better for tenants.

Assuming all elements of the Bill pass into law, here are 10 things tenants should know.

Changes that should benefit tenants:

1. With the scrapping of section 21, landlords will no longer be able to evict tenants with just 2 months’ notice unless they have a specific, valid ground (under section 8)

2. Tenants will have the right to challenge every eviction in court, whereas with the current ‘no ground’ section 21, that’s not possible.

3. Landlords won’t be able to turn down a tenant’s request to keep a pet without a good reason. 

4. Landlords will no longer be able to write ‘rolling’ rent increases into a rental agreement. Instead, they will have to issue a section 13 notice, giving tenants 2 months’ notice. If a tenant thinks the increase is unreasonable, they can go to the First-Tier Tribunal and the intention is to digitise this process to make it easier for tenants to object.

5. All landlords will have to register on a new property portal, which should make it easier for local councils to monitor and take enforcement action against bad landlords. The database will be publicly accessible, so tenants will be able to look up their landlord and see whether they have received any banning orders, fines, etc.

6. A new industry Ombudsman will be created, to cover landlords as well as agents. This means tenants will have a proper route to redress if they have a complaint about their landlord.

7. The Decent Homes Standard, which currently only applies to the social rented sector, is expected, at some point to be extended to the private sector. This could help ensure tenants have safer, better value homes and make it easier for local councils to tackle poor-quality rented housing.

Changes that are likely to benefit landlords:

1. Tenants won’t be able to give two months’ notice within the first four months of a tenancy, which will mean a minimum 6-month rental commitment.

2. The exception to the ‘no fault’ eviction ban is landlords of student properties, who will be permitted to evict student tenants and regain possession of their property in line with the academic year.

3. The wording of ground 14, which relates to anti-social behaviour, is being modified from “likely to cause nuisance” to “capable of causing nuisance”. Tenants should be aware that this strengthens landlords’ rights.

If you are renting now, or considering renting, it’s worth checking out your tenant’s insurance to make sure you are covered should things go wrong. Check out what our tenant insurance will cover for you.